Tenderly
by Sleep Walking Chicken
Summary: (sequel to 'softly') one shot "Kagome you shouldn't do this, you'll be rejected by everyone!" "will you reject me, Inu-yasha?"


**Tenderly**  
  
Kagome woke up in the hut, her bag near her feet and her body resting lightly on the futon near the fire pit. Miroku and Shippou were snoozing in the corner, Sango was near her, tossing on her futon slightly, having a bad dream. Kaede was gone from the hut, making her morning rounds, and Inu- yasha, as usual, was missing.  
  
She sat up softly and wondered how she'd gotten there. All she remembered was falling asleep with Inu-yasha in the forest named after him. She blushed at the thought of being in his lap, against his chest. Then she shooed those thoughts away, he'd been in human form, and he was about ten times kinder in that form.  
  
Sighing sadly she grabbed her bath things and headed towards the small pond she'd taken her first bath in the feudal era. Her footsteps echoed across the sleeping village and she kept an eye out for Inu-yasha. She didn't really want to talk to the demon today, she was still slightly embarrassed, and after showing that much affection, though little as it was, she knew that her demon friend would be more than a little grumpy today. 

---

Inu-yasha watched numbly from the roof as Kagome left the hut with _"So-ape" _and _"Shame-pooh"_ that was from her time. Quickly he turned away in case she had seen, he would go and follow her later to make sure she was ok, right now he couldn't risk being caught by the woman that held his heart.  
  
Waiting five minutes after she had disappeared from sight, Inu-yasha hoped from the hut to the trees in one bound and hoped around with the grace and stealth that would put a ninja to shame. Sitting in a tree that sat on the ledge of a small hill, Inu-yasha looked down as Kagome slipped off her clothes, revealing a bathing suit she'd put on earlier, much to Inu-yasha relief/displeasure. He watched as she submerged into the cold water making goose bumps spring to life along her fine and tender skin and her hair slick down and stuck to her back.  
  
She clutched her arms together and shivered, seemingly to have forgotten how cold the water could be, after all, it did come straight from a mountain's spring. He smirked as she sneezed and dunked her head under water again, rinsing the grim from her.  
  
The grim.  
  
He pouted; she was washing herself after he touched her. He was the scum of the earth, after all, not only was a hanyou of all things, he was the biggest jerk to her. His reasons made sense, but were still uncalled for.  
  
After all, he was never accepted in his life until Kikyo, and even then it was only if he changed. So what made Kagome any different? He was merely protecting himself from the heartbreak and rejection that he would receive. That's another reason he hadn't told her directly that he loved her.  
  
Sure, it was his human form, but he didn't want to change unless she really wanted to, and it was his hanyou, both youkai and human, that loved Kagome, not just human. He sighed and watched her scrub herself with a weird "sponge" from her time, soapsuds flowed around her before being swept downriver.  
  
He loved watching her bathe, granted he wasn't a hentai like a certain houshi, but he did appreciate the female body. He would turn away whenever Kagome undressed and would only continue looking after he was one hundred percent sure that Kagome was fully covered by the warm water before gazing at her beautiful face, her hair fanning out behind her.  
  
He shook his head, clearing his thoughts of that, it was doing some _interesting_ things to him and he liked and didn't like it at the same time, he preferred it to stop now before he got carried away. Glancing at the girl again he smiled faintly, his eyes turning from a glare to a look of tenderness as she washed the shampoo from her hair, rivers of water cascaded down her body, making waterfalls wherever there was a dip or a peak.  
  
He turned his eyes away again, a blush threatening to creep up his face and a warm feeling pooling in his stomach.  
  
---  
  
The whole time she was bathing, Kagome felt as if she was being watched, luckily she had been wise to bring her bathing suit with her when she decided to go the cold pool of water that came _straight_ from the mountain. How could she have been so stupid as to forget that? It would have been better if she'd gone back to her time.  
  
She sighed, remembering how sad Inu-yasha had seemed at the well last night and simply shooed the thought of leaving aside, he would be heart broken. Or maybe he only wanted the jewel shards. She would prefer to believe the former. She dunked her head under water and proceeded to clean herself.  
  
The nagging thought of someone watching her wouldn't leave her alone, and she was half hoping it was her imagination and half hoping that it was maybe Inu-yasha spying on her.  
  
She decided to find out, "Sit!"  
  
A slam was heard as the hanyou fell down the little ledge on the side of the hell and literally bounced into the water, hitting the bottom. Kagome gasped, luckily the spell wasn't as long, and he wouldn't drown, he'd been sat into a river before, he wouldn't die or anything.  
  
The aforementioned hanyou surfaced a moment later gasping of air and his hair weighed down drawing more attention to his ears. His ears were drooped guiltily and his eyes looked like a kicked puppy's as he awaited Kagome to scream at him Kagome fought the urge to giggle, Inu-yasha was so cute when he dropped his façade.  
  
She glared at him anyway, might as well make him grovel, "What are you doing here?"  
  
Inu-yasha felt his mouth run dry as he searched an answer without really telling her the truth (heaven forbid) and raked his mind furiously for something believable but not all perverted. Kagome tapped her foot, though it was met with deaf ears, being underwater.  
  
Inu-yasha's ears drooped even more and he fidgeted nervously, Kagome giggled, finally giving into it all and Inu-yasha looked at her with a shocked look on his face.  
  
Kagome walked forward and hugged the confused hanyou and giggled again, "I forgive you."  
  
Inu-yasha sighed in relief, Kagome had understood him without words, he hesitantly wrapped his arms around her and tenderly patted her back, inhaling her scent as he did so, he could never get enough of that lavender smell that was just Kagome.  
  
Kagome reached her hands up and rubbed his ears, she loved his ears, they were what made Inu-yasha Inu-yasha, and she wouldn't change him for the world, for anything, this was the Inu-yasha she loved. Every part of him. Human and Youkai. The two combined to make the perfect combination that was Inu-yasha. She smiled tenderly when a low rumbling sound echoed along the now silent pond.  
  
Inu-yasha nuzzled her left hand, itching to be closer to her, the sweet torture she was doing to his ears was almost too much, it was slowly eating away at his senses and making him loose control as he gripped his instincts and forced them back down.  
  
He grabbed her hands and lowered them, his thumb lightly brushing over her knuckles softly as he looked deeply into her confused eyes. "Inu-yasha-"  
  
"Shh," he whispered, releasing one hand so he could place a finger over her lips, she looked up at him, silently wondering why he was doing this huge display of affection.  
  
He smirked and cupped her cheek, stroking her cheekbone under the soft skin; he marveled at how tender and soft this one little human could be. This one little human he was madly in love with, being with her, nothing mattered. He even failed to notice how he was shivering violently from the cold water.  
  
His full attention was on her and only her, his Kagome, the love of his life. He chuckled at the thought and leaned forward; breaking the barrier between them in a chaste, sweet kiss which left Kagome breathless.  
  
He pulled away slowly, his eyes half lidded, the golden orbs flickering to hers for signs of resistance, when he saw none, he leaned again and placed his lips firmly to hers, savoring the sweet taste that was Kagome.  
  
Kagome, who was blown away by his bold move, was literally stone still, she couldn't believe that this was happening, she felt her resolve melting away slowly as she leaned into his warm lips. They were soft yet firm, demanding yet gentle at the same time. She sighed blissfully.  
  
"Kagome!"  
  
In an instant, Inu-yasha was gone and was in the trees, racing away with a huge blush on his face. Kagome blinked in surprise as Sango and Shippou came into the clearing and Shippou smiled, "Kagome!"  
  
Kagome blinked dumbly.  
  
Sango smiled and stripped down to a bathing suit that Kagome had leant her and waded over to Kagome. "Damn it's cold here, anyways, Kagome, what are you doing out here all by yourself, I didn't even hear you get up!"  
  
Kagome wasn't listening instead she was scanning the trees searching for her hanyou.  
  
---  
  
Inu-yasha banged his head against a tree, he got carried away again, how could he, damn it? He had allowed himself to be carried away, he hadn't meant to kiss her, she must hate him now, he ran and stopped at the god tree to clear his mind, he felt like the scum of the earth.  
  
He stood like, killing his brain cells, when the scent of Kagome was picked up, she was walking slowly towards the well. He felt a pain tug at his heart, he had driven her away. He had finally pushed her to the limit, all because he loved her, all because he couldn't control himself. He sighed; the least he could do was apologize to her for being an ass and forcing the kiss on her.  
  
He walked through the thicket and came into the clearing Kagome was tying her shoes, the rest of her outfit wrinkled and seemed to be thrown on at the last minute. She stood up and jumped slightly at the hanyou before her.  
  
She grasped her shirt over her heart, "wow, Inu-yasha you scared me!"  
  
Inu-yasha fought the urge to whimper as his ears went flat against his skull, his eyes forlorn and pathetic looking as he fidgeted with his foot. Since when had be become such a pitiful idiot?  
  
He turned away, "I knew it would drive you away."  
  
Kagome blinked in confusion, he looked so sad.  
  
"I'm sorry I forced that kiss on you, Kagome, and I understand that you want to leave...." He looked away, fighting the urge to cry, she was leaving because he loved her.  
  
A monster loves her.  
  
He was a monster.  
  
And he loved Kagome.  
  
She looked at him sadly, not pitifully, which he was grateful for, he hated pity. She took a step towards him and he took a step back. He turned completely around, "Just go Kagome, forget about the monster that loves you."  
  
He mentally slapped himself, damn it, he hadn't meant to say that out loud.  
  
Kagome smiled faintly and placed her hand on his shoulder, hugging him from behind. He lowered his head in shame as she rested her head on his shoulder and looked at him tenderly, this was the man she loved.  
  
"Inu-yasha," she paused. Words couldn't express what she felt for him. Her whole being revolved around him, everything she felt was for him, she loved him deeply and completely. She'd never been in love before, and didn't know what it felt like, but she was pretty sure the feeling she was having right now. She'd never felt like this before, not for anyone, and she somehow knew this wasn't the kind of "_love_" her school mates spoke of, this was the real love that is shared between two that were willing to give up everything for the other. The "_love_" her schoolmates spoke of was artificial and incomplete compared to what she felt for her hanyou who was secured tightly in her grasp.  
  
"I disgust you," he whispered softly.  
  
Kagome nearly choked, he thought that? He thought that he disgusted her?  
  
"How could I be disgusted by you, Inu-yasha?" she whispered just as quietly, not trusting to raise her voice any louder, if she did, she might sound harsher than she meant to.  
  
"I'm a hanyou. A half-breed. The filth of the world. Anyone associated with me is looked down upon, scorned, taunted, hated, just because they come into contact with me." He paused, biting his lip. "I disgust everyone with my freakish looks. I disgust all for who I am, I am the symbol of two species mating, and the worst thing any one can do."  
  
Kagome pulled away from him when he slowly turned around. He looked at their feet.  
  
"I'll never be accepted."  
  
Kagome's eyes softened and she reached up and cupped his cheek tenderly, he turned to meet her eyes. She smiled faintly. "Too bad…" she trailed off.  
  
He looked at her with saddened confusion.  
  
"I love you anyway," she finished. She stood on the tip of her toes and pressed her lips to his, cherishing his lips with her own as she released all her built up emotion into that one fiery kiss.  
  
Inu-yasha slowly melted into her.  
  
As soon as it started it was over and Kagome looked up at him, cupping his other cheek now, and looking deeply into his eyes, the gateway to his soul, his inner trauma.  
  
"Kagome, you shouldn't do this, you'll be rejected by everyone."  
  
"Will you reject me?"  
  
"Of course not," he said firmly, his eyes flickering with fire.  
  
"Then I don't care," Kagome said and smiled brightly at her bewildered hanyou, "as long as I have you, I don't care."  
  
"Kagome..."  
  
"Shh, just let me love you, Inu-yasha."  
  
All Inu-yasha could do was nod. Though he hated the fact that her being with him would ruin her entire future, he somehow felt right in her arms, he slowly grew oblivious to the world around them as he tenderly held the love of his life in his arms, he didn't care any longer, as long as Kagome was by his side, he would love her for all he was, and all he could be, and all he ever would be.  
  
Tenderly he held her, and allowed her to slip into the well, convinced that she would return to her. And if she didn't, he would die waiting for her at the lip of the well. She was his, and he was hers, they belonged to each other, and even though they were years apart, they could never not be together.  
  
---  
  
Author's notes: before any of you tell me he's OOC. Let me tell you this  
  
if it's a fan fiction, how can it be OOC? I read fan fictions for the oocness sometimes because the angst of the actual series gets to me. Why bother reading fan fiction when you can watch the series!?


End file.
